The Door
by Blackbetsirose
Summary: In the moment before she dies, River Song decides to grant her Doctor his wish. A five part story.
1. Part One: River Song

I don't own Ten, Donna, River Song, Ten II or Doctor Who. The BBC does. Page breaks are a quote from The Forest of the Dead. It appears in all parts but part five.

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Part One: River Song

 _"_ _Time can be rewritten."_

She stared at the man who was the Doctor, but who wasn't _her_ Doctor. Time can be rewritten. He couldn't go back on his or anyone's personal timeline to change events, nor could she flat out tell him his future, but perhaps she could give him, _this_ Doctor, a hint or two. Enough to maybe correct the mistakes her Doctor had so regretted. There were only a few minutes, but the memories surfaced.

 _"_ _Time can be rewritten."_

There had been a door in one of the corridors on the TARDIS. She passed this door frequently on her way to the console room. Sometimes she saw it fully, other times it seemed to waver and shimmer, then disappear. Amy and Rory had both mentioned seeing something out of the corner of their eyes, but when they looked, nothing was there. One day, she stopped in front of the shimmering spot, and the door was seen clearly. It seemed to be a solid wooden door in the style of medieval Earth. It had a gold plate on it that had Gallifreyan writing on it, though she couldn't understand it, and the TARDIS refused to translate it as she did with all things written or spoken in Gallifreyan.

She reached out to touch it, but just as her hand felt the wood, there was a shock, and the door disappeared. Stumbling back, she stared for a few minutes more, then turned to go to the console room.

"Doctor?" she asked as she entered and saw the Doctor under the console sitting in the swing tinkering.

"Ah! River. I'm almost done here. I have somewhere in mind I want to take you."

"And I'd love to go, sweetie, but there's something I wanted to ask you."

"Oh. Alright. Go on then."

"There's a door in the corridor. Sometimes it's there, sometimes it's not. I saw it today, and when I touched it, it shocked me and vanished. What is it?" she frowned when the Doctor's face fell a little, then he shook it off and waved his hand.

"It's just a room, River. Nothing to concern yourself with. Now shall we go?"

"It's not nothing," she said, holding her hand up to stop his protest. "I'll let it go for now." She noted his sigh, and when he went back up to the console, it was with considerable less energy and enthusiasm than before.

 _"_ _Time can be rewritten."_

He'd taken her to the Singing Towers of Darillium and while there, had taken her hands in his, and turned her towards him. She looked up at him in concern as he looked quite sad. "What is it?" she asked.

"That room you asked me about?"

"Yes?"

"It belonged to someone who was very close to my hearts. Someone who was wonderful, and brilliant, and beautiful. Someone who became the most important woman in all creation," he gazed at her. "You may have heard of her? The stolen planets incident?"

"The DoctorDonna," River breathed. "There are legends of her, stories, temples, shrines. Everywhere you go, she's revered," she tightened the grip she had on the Doctor's hands. "You knew her. You _loved_ her."

"I did," he turned his face away but not before she'd seen his eyes glisten with unshed tears. "She was a companion," his voice was soft, and she listened carefully as he spoke of Donna Noble with a reverence she'd never heard in his voice before.

When he'd finished his story, he'd taken her back to the TARDIS, and down the corridor to the door. She could see the door clearly now, more so than she had earlier. He ran his fingers over the gold plate with the writing. "This is her name, in my language," he reached down and a doorknob appeared and he opened the door. Inside was a cozy room, a four poster bed with a purple duvet covering it. A couch and some chairs surrounding a small table. There were paintings on the walls, and hanging on the doors of a large cherry wood wardrobe was a deep purple toga. There was a lingering scent of fruity shampoo and a light perfume. River couldn't tell the exact scent.

She noted a picture on the bedside table of a man in a pinstripe suit with wild hair and sideburns. He was grinning widely. Next to him was a woman with vibrant red hair, and a beautiful smile, her arm tucked into the man's. She appeared to be dressed in a 1920's outfit. "Is that you?" she asked quietly. The Doctor nodded and ran his finger over the picture. "That was the day we met Agatha Christie," his voice was soft and sad. He sighed once more, and touched the picture. "Mia bella Donna. I wish I could change what I did to you."

She lifted her hand and wiped the tear that had escaped down his cheek. He sucked in his breath, and took her hand. "Right then," he said. "Off we go."

They left Donna's room, and River watched as the door shut and the door vanished back under the perception filter.

 _"_ _Time can be rewritten."_

The memories faded and River looked once again at the pinstriped clad man in front of her, that she'd handcuffed to a pole. She knew what to do now. Holding up the cables that would end her life, yet save the downloaded people including the woman she knew must be saved, she looked into the Doctor's eyes. "When the Earth is stolen, that will herald the arrival of the DoctorDonna. Do not separate them. For if you do, one will die, and one will be forced to forget. Keep them together and you will no longer be alone, or the last of your kind."

"What?" he asked, confused.

"You will know," she whispered. "When the time comes, you will know. Promise me you won't separate them."

"I…promise?" he said. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Ah-ah. Spoilers," she gave a half smile. Getting ready to connect the cables, she looked at him one more time. "I did love you. I do love you," she connected the cables, felt the enormous surge of electrical power go through her, and knew no more.

 _"_ _Time has been rewritten."_


	2. Part Two: Theta Sigma

I don't own Ten, Donna, Ten II, River Song, or Doctor Who. The BBC does. Page breaks are a quote from The Forest of the Dead. It appears in all parts, but part five.

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Part Two: Theta Sigma

 _"_ _Time can be rewritten."_

When he'd first met this woman in the Library, he'd doubted her knowledge of him. But then she'd spoken something into his ear that he wouldn't have told just anyone. He didn't have time to ponder that though as Donna had been taken, killed he assumed and his hearts had plummeted and frozen at the thought.

When River handcuffed him to the pole while she prepared to sacrifice herself to save the downloaded people, what she'd whispered in his ear had come back to the forefront of his mind. Then she spoke of the Earth being stolen, the DoctorDonna, and separating them. He wanted to know why she was telling him this, but all she said was that damnable "Spoilers". And then she was gone.

He filed the information she'd given him but had no time to try and figure out what it meant as his time became occupied with helping Donna through the loss of the virtual husband and children she'd been given in the Library database. She felt as though she'd actually lived through it. It felt like a genuine loss. And it was to her.

Then there had been the disastrous trip to Midnight, which had Donna helping him through horrifying nightmares. Followed by Shan Shen and then…the Earth was stolen. Rose returned. He was shot by a Dalek. He partially regenerated, but sent some of the energy into his old hand. He and the Children of Time were taken onto the Crucible where they confronted Davros. And Donna and the TARDIS were sent away. His hearts froze once again, at the loss of his Donna, and his ship.

But the words from River Song echoed in his head when the TARDIS reappeared, and who he could only describe as his twin, and Donna ran out one after the other, both getting shot. His twin. Donna. The DoctorDonna.

 _"_ _When the Earth is stolen, that will herald the arrival of the DoctorDonna. Do not separate them. For if you do, one will die, and one will be forced to forget."_

He watched as they got up, and went to the controls. He joined them, and the three of them danced around this console-looking object sending twenty-six of the stolen planets back to their correct places. After the destruction of the Crucible, and the death of Davros, the Cardiff Rift was tethered to the TARDIS and the Earth returned to it's proper place. He returned Jack, Sarah Jane, Martha, and Mickey to London, then took Jackie and Rose back to Pete's World. He watched Donna and his twin carefully knowing something was going to happen, but what exactly he didn't know. He wasn't going to separate them, River's words made sense now. He knew he had to be quick though. He told Jackie to have the Dimension Cannon destroyed as it had contributed heavily to the stars going out, and Davros escaping the Time Lock. He told her to get Rose out of Pete's Torchwood. Rose had almost destroyed the multiverse with the cannon. Her mind was warped by it. Rose tried to speak, tried to push her way back with the Doctor, but he was having none of it. He pushed her aside, not wasting breath to speak to her and entered the TARDIS, after Donna and his twin.

 _"_ _Time can be rewritten."_

Once back in their universe, he sent the TARDIS into the Vortex. Turning his attention to Donna and his twin who were standing by a particular panel next to the console. They were holding hands, facing each other and to his astonishment, glowing gold. He felt the TARDIS niggling in his mind telling him she could and would take care of them. He had done his part by not separating them. The panel opened and enveloped his twin and Donna in a blinding white and gold light.

He couldn't look at them, but he could hear them shrieking with the pain of regeneration. At least that's what he thought was happening. He wasn't quite sure. When it was over and the light dimmed and vanished, he saw them crumpled on the grating. His twin was holding Donna against his chest, and Donna was clinging to him. The Doctor sat next to them, and they both reached out to him, holding him close. Donna wiped his cheek and he was startled to realize tears had been steadily falling.

They sat there for how long, the Doctor didn't pay attention to. He could feel Donna's mind, and his twin's mind brushing up against his for contact. He could sense the two extra hearts beating in the newly regenerated Time Lords. He could sense the strong bond between Donna and his twin, and he understood it was a marriage bond. He felt the TARDIS nudge him mentally encouraging him to bond with the new Time Lords. But he was reluctant. He didn't want Donna to know he loved her now that she was bonded in marriage to his twin. He definitely didn't want his twin to know.

Lips pressed to his startled him, and he realized Donna was kissing him. He drew back confused, and grew even more so at the wide smile on his twin's face. His twin touched his arm. "I have your memories, Theta," he said. "I know you love her. She and I are married, yes. But that doesn't mean you have to stay away. Be with her. Love her. All I ask is for you to make some time for me to love her too."

"Donna…?" the Doctor asked, still uncertain.

Her response was to kiss him again. "I love you, you prawn," she reached back and took the twin's hand. "I love him too. There's no law that says I can't love both of you." She returned her lips to his, and this time he kissed back with enthusiasm. His twin sat back and waited patiently.

When Donna and the Doctor came up for air, he looked at his twin. "Theta? Why did you call me that?"

His twin shrugged. "You're the Doctor, I'm guessing I'm the Doctor too sort of. Both of us can't go by that name and not confuse everyone. I like Tau. I choose Tau. Tau Sigma."

The Doctor…Theta pondered that for a moment. He nodded accepting it. "Theta and Tau Sigma," he grinned looking at Donna. "You realize by a majority of human tradition, this makes you Donna Sigma, right?"

Donna shrugged and grinned. "Meh. I can live with it," she twisted and kissed Tau, then did the same to Theta. "Now let's get started on forever."

Theta grinned. "Molto bene," he said before claiming her lips once more.

 _"_ _Time has been rewritten."_


	3. Part Three: Donna Sigma (Noble)

I don't own Ten, Donna, Ten II or Doctor Who. The BBC does. This part references Midnight and Journey's End. The page breaks are a quote from The Forest of the Dead. It appears in all parts, but part five.

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Part Three: Donna Sigma (Noble)

 _"_ _Time can be rewritten."_

Donna couldn't pinpoint the exact moment she fell in love with the Doctor. Perhaps she'd always loved him, and subconsciously shoved her feelings aside. She knew she felt something after the Library, and he took care of her so sweetly. He asked about the virtual family she'd had in the computer, but he never pushed. He was alright with what she was alright with telling him. This allowed her to open up to him and tell him more than she would have anyone else. She also appreciated that he seemed to know when to back off, and give her space, and when she wanted and needed him to hold her while she cried.

She hoped she had achieved the same for him after the disastrous trip to Midnight. He'd had horrendous nightmares, and night terrors for days, weeks even, if she had been keeping track of the passage of time in the TARDIS correctly which could be quite hard. She spent most nights in his room, in his bed holding him as he shook with residual fear, and cried. After the nightmares had faded, she'd still slept in his room. They gained a certain comfort sharing a bed and it had never gone beyond holding each other. She knew, at that point she loved him. She wasn't certain she would tell him though.

 _"_ _Time can be rewritten."_

Now she felt some regret for that decision as she stood in the TARDIS as it fell through the Crucible. She didn't know whether she should panic, cry, get angry, or just stand there. She didn't know why the doors had locked, or why she could hear the beating of a heart. Farther down the TARDIS fell, and she was drawn to the glass jar containing the Doctor's hand. She crouched down and looked at the bubbling fluid, and had an irresistible urge to touch it. So she did.

Gold light streamed from the jar into her. She could feel it, hot and a bit of a tingle. Then it streamed away and formed a figure which resolved itself into an exact duplicate of the Doctor. A twin. He sat up, then stood up. "It's you," she gasped.

"Oh yes,' he replied.

"You're naked," she tried not to look, but he was just so…there.

"Oh yes," he repeated.

He went looking for clothes, and once he was dressed they tried to figure out what had happened and formulate a plan. Both of them were studiously ignoring the feeling of connection. The twin got the TARDIS out of where it was falling, back to where he knew the others were, grabbed a gun, as he would be the distraction needed for Donna to get to the control console, and ran out of the timeship. Only to be shot. Donna ran out after him, made it almost to the control console before she too was shot.

She recovered rather quickly, and saw the twin was also recovered and the Doctor was looking at them with a mixture of confusion and amazement. She jumped when she felt a tug on the mysterious connection she had with the twin, and glared at him. The three of them went to the control console, and with the remark of being the best temp in Chiswick, with one hundred words a minute, she began returning the stolen planets back to their places. The twin and the Doctor hurried to help, while Rose asked questions about what had happened, and Jack told everyone he couldn't tell them what he was thinking right now. Which surprised no one.

 _"_ _Time can be rewritten."_

As the TARDIS towed the Earth back to it's proper location after the defeat of Davros and the destruction of the Crucible, Donna and the twin found themselves watching as the Doctor and the other Children of Time piloted the timeship. The feeling of connection was getting a bit stronger now that they had time to sit back a little. There was also a feeling of urgency building, and some pain. Donna scanned the knowledge in her brain and realized unless something was done, that she wasn't entirely sure of doing, they could both die. Both had human bodies. Both had a Time Lord consciousness. If it was in the Doctor's head, it was in theirs. And their human bodies couldn't handle it.

"Complete the bond," Donna heard this faint whisper in her head, and looking at the twin, she knew he heard it as well. "When the Others have gone, join with me. I will help you." It was then she knew they were hearing the TARDIS. She gripped the twin's hand.

The Earth was returned, and Jack, Martha, Mickey and Sarah Jane left. The Doctor took them to Pete's World to drop off Jackie and Rose. Donna and the twin followed them out onto the beach. She didn't listen to all of what the Doctor was saying to Jackie, just that Rose had helped with the breach of the Time Lock using the Dimension Cannon. Her head was starting to get fuzzy. She registered that the Doctor was ushering her and the twin into the TARDIS. She felt a mental nudge to stand by a certain panel, and she went there, along with the twin, while the Doctor piloted them back to their universe.

She stood with the twin facing him, and took his hands. She saw him start to glow, and she knew she was glowing as well. Then there was heat and pain, a wailing sound that she knew was coming from her and the twin. She could feel her body changing and she could feel new mental connections. The fledgling bond she'd felt with the twin strengthened and snapped into place. "Wife," the twin's voice whispered into her head. "Husband," she felt her mind respond. "Love," both their minds whispered. She felt a wave of love from somewhere else, and realized it was from the Doctor. He loved her. He loved her like she loved him, she loved the twin, and the twin loved her. She felt the TARDIS withdraw from their minds, and she fell to the grating firmly in the twin's grasp.

She felt rather than saw the Doctor sit next to them, and they moved as one to pull him into their arms. They all held each other, and then she kissed him. He was confused, understandably so as she and the twin were married, yet she was kissing him. The twin explained, and she told the Doctor what she chose. That she chose to love them both.

The twin chose the name Tau, citing his and the Doctor's identical looks, and well…the same name. By mutual agreement, or rather by Tau just calling him that, the Doctor chose to use Theta as his name.

Donna thought for a second about acquiring the name Sigma. She looked at her husband and her other soon to be lover and realized she didn't mind. "Meh, I can live with it," she kissed Tau, and then Theta. "Now let's get started on forever," she said.

"Molto bene," Theta said with a grin and kissed her.

"Mia bella Donna," she heard in her mind. From both Theta and Tau.

 _"_ _Time has been rewritten."_


	4. Part Four: Tau Sigma

I don't own Ten, Donna, Ten II, or Doctor Who. The BBC does. This part is is set a little bit ahead in time after the first three parts. It also mentions Wilf, and Sylvia, though they don't appear.

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Part Four: Tau Sigma

 _"_ _Time can be rewritten."_

He sat on the ground in the Gallifrey gardens, fingers running through the red grass, listening to the silver leaves chime in the breeze. He'd been here for a while as Donna and Theta were spending some time together. He altered the bond a little because although it didn't bother him that his wife and Theta were intimate together, he still didn't want to know details. Both because Theta was his twin, and because they deserved privacy. He knew Theta did the same for him when he and Donna had their time.

He laid back on the grass, and stared up at the sky, watching the clouds roll by. He started to feel drowsy and thought perhaps a nap wouldn't go amiss. It had only been a few days since the full regeneration, and he and Donna still tired easily. He snorted thinking of how Donna was getting tired out now. His eyes grew heavier, and he drifted off. He didn't notice when a blanket appeared over him, and two people sat next to him.

He woke to arms around him, and a weight on his chest. Blinking his eyes, he saw Donna curled next to him, her hair spread over his chest. He ran his hand through her hair, and turned at the sound of a chuckle. Theta was sitting on the other side of Donna, with his hand on her back. "Have a good nap?" Theta asked him.

"Alright I guess. This is nice though," Tau indicated Donna in his arms. "I trust your time together was…pleasant?"

Theta grinned and nodded. "Very much so," he gestured towards the sleeping woman. "As you can see, she quite enjoyed it."

"Ugh," Tau wrinkled his nose. "Obviously I don't mind you two spending quality time, but I don't need to know that."

"You asked."

Tau sighed. "So I did," he adjusted his hold on Donna, while yawning widely. "So where d'you think we should go today?"

"Well…as much as I'd love to postpone it for a while longer, we probably should go to see Sylvia and Wilf."

"Oh. Right."

"Don't sound so excited, there. After all we're only talking about going to see your mother in law."

"Oi. Don't remind me," Tau grumbled.

"Don't remind you of what?" Donna's sleepy voice entered the conversation. She stirred, lifting her head and placing a sweet kiss on Tau's lips. Tau returned it, and then shuddered as she nuzzled his neck before sitting up.

"Oh I was just telling your husband that we should probably think about going to Chiswick to see his mother in law. And tell her she has a son in law, who is an alien. Oh, and that her daughter's an alien now as well. D'you think she'll keel over? OW!" Theta scooted back after Donna smacked his arm. "What was that for?"

"What do you think, Spaceman?" Donna muttered. "'Do you think she'll keel over?' Although, thinking about it, perhaps she will."

"Wilf will love it," Tau said. At their raised eyebrows, he coughed and continued. "The alien part. Not Sylvia keeling over."

"No time like the present," Donna stood up and started to head for the door out of the gardens. When the two Time Lords didn't follow she put her hands on her hips. "Well? Don't you want to get it over with?"

"Yeah…" Tau dragged the word out, before standing slowly. Theta stood and dusted his trousers. Donna held her hands out, and both men took them. The three of them made their way to the console room, Tau getting smacked on his arm for trying to stop in the kitchen to get the really nice Katellian ice packs. "Just wanted to be prepared for when she slaps the taste right out of our mouths," he'd grumbled.

 _"_ _Time can be rewritten."_

"Well. That went well," Theta said with a slightly forced amount of cheer in his voice, as they entered the TARDIS following the visit. Donna and Tau glared and grumbled to themselves, going to the jump seat, while Theta put them in the Vortex. "For once in my lives, it wasn't me the mum slapped."

"I can make up for that, and slap you in her place," Donna snarked.

"Please do," Tau said.

"Well honestly, what did you expect?" Theta looked at his twin. "I said to ease Sylvia into it, and what did you do? Walk right up to her, announce you're a Gallifreyan, specifically a Time Lord, you're Donna's husband, and by the way, Donna is also Gallifreyan now, she's a Time Lady. Then you sat at the table and asked what was for tea," he patted Tau on the shoulder. Tau shoved his hand away.

"Well, if I'd let you tell them, we'd still be there while you babbled on and on and on. Eternal babbling. Something I'm so very glad I didn't get via the metacrisis."

"I would not have babbled. I don't babble," Theta looked affronted.

"Yes. You do," Donna muttered. "It doesn't matter now anyway. Mum's been told, she's done her slapping and yelling, and we don't have to go back for a while."

"Wilf was alright with it," Theta said with a smile. "We owe him a trip in the TARDIS, but he was remarkably understanding."

"Speaking of which, where are we going to take Gramps? We did promise him the trip a week from tomorrow," Donna pulled out a little Earth calendar, determined to at least try to stick to that time frame, though realistically she knew it probably wouldn't happen.

"Time machine," Theta said. "Just keep note of what the date is a week from tomorrow and we can go from there. Not in that much of a hurry to go back there."

"Me either," Tau rubbed his still quite red cheek. "Even if it is to see Wilf. Let's give it a few weeks."

 _"_ _Time can be rewritten."_

Tau snickered as he and Donna followed Theta into the TARDIS. They'd taken Wilf to what Theta had insisted was a lovely forested planet perfect for a picnic along a river. And for a while it had been. Until the large walking fish came up out of the river for their afternoon nap in the sun. Which so happened to be where they were picnicking. These walking fish hadn't been pleased to see their napping grounds had been usurped and had…attacked. So to speak.

Theta had approached them, going on about how marvelous they looked, and he'd beckoned Wilf over to see the alien fauna. Said alien fauna had started snapping their quite sharp looking teeth at them, and both Theta and Wilf had been bitten. The bites had been taken care of quickly in the TARDIS medbay, and left no lasting effects, but they'd agreed they wouldn't be sharing that particular event with Sylvia.

Unfortunately, after they'd returned to Chiswick to have dinner with Sylvia, while Donna and Wilf had been in the kitchen rummaging for tea things to take up the hill, and Sylvia had been thought to be out of the room, Theta and Tau discussed the fish, and the bites.

Which was why as the three Time Lords walked to the TARIDS, one of them had a handprint on the side of their face. After Theta sent them into the Vortex, Tau snorted when he saw him pout at Donna. She kissed his cheek, and then he turned his head to fully kiss her on her lips.

Tau decided to leave them to it, and quietly left the console room and head for the Gallifrey gardens, stopping once in the kitchen for his favorite tea and biscuits.

 _"_ _Time has been rewritten."_


	5. Part Five: New Timeline

I don't own Ten, Donna, Ten II, or Doctor Who. The BBC does. This is the final part, and the page breaks are regular ones. It references Torchwood: Children of Earth, The End of Time, and The Eleventh Hour, none of which I own either. They also belong to the BBC.

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Part Five: New Timeline

Life went on as regular it could be said for the Three Timeketeers, as Theta had nicknamed them. Nothing about the slight change of time was noticed other than a bizarre yet faint niggling in the brains of two Time Lords, and one Time Lady. It wasn't something they closely paid attention to. To them everything had happened as normal. Though Theta would occasionally get flashes of what his life would have been had he left Tau in Pete's World where he would have died within days, and had had to wipe Donna's mind of her memories of him and her time with him. Sometimes these flashes would show up in the form of nightmares, which he woke up from sweaty, nauseous, terrified, and more often than not in the arms of Donna and Tau.

They travelled loads of places, but tried to visit Earth as much as possible, with the exception of the arrival of the 456. That was a fixed point, and they could do nothing about it. It upset them immensely, and as soon as the situation was resolved they went to Earth to see if they could help with the aftermath. They'd gone to Cardiff looking for Jack only to be greeted with a huge hole in the ground where the Hub once had been. They found Gwen, who told them Ianto had been killed, and Jack had had to sacrifice his grandson Steven. She told them Jack left soon after. She didn't know where, or even when as he'd left by Vortex manipulator.

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They'd found Jack in a bar type place several light years, and a few centuries from Earth. He was well on his way to death by alcohol poisoning. Theta and Tau had peeled him off the bar stool, and between them got him to the TARDIS, where he could sleep it off. He stayed with them for quite a while after that. He wasn't eager to be alone, nor did he want to return to Earth.

It was while Jack was with them that Tau and Donna declared their desire to ski, and to ski at one of the biggest resorts in several galaxies. Theta had no such desire to ski, but Jack said he was game. Thus Tau, Donna, and Jack prepared for a three week stay at the resort on Tandoori Prime. Theta decided he'd use that time to visit Sarah Jane and Wilf.

That was how he ended up on Earth when the Master returned, the Time Lords returned, and Gallifrey returned. Wilf had been with him. And Wilf was there when he and the Master sent Rassilon, the Time Lords, and Gallifrey back to the Time Lock, the Master going as well. It was then he heard four knocks. And saw Wilf in the radiation chamber. He refused to let Wilf stay in that chamber, and took his place. He took Wilf home, told Sylvia he'd bring Donna and Tau for a visit soon, and went quickly to the TARDIS. He visited Martha and Mickey, saving them from a Sontaran, and he visited Sarah Jane, saving Luke from being hit by a car. He toyed with going back to see Rose before she met him, but he still felt some animosity towards her and he didn't want her face to be that last one this face saw, since he knew he didn't have time to get to Tandoori Prime to get Donna and Tau. Instead, he left Bannerman Road, and sent the TARDIS just above the Earth. He gripped one of the struts, and sucked in a breath. "I don't want to go," he whispered. But he knew it was inevitable.

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On Tandoori Prime, Donna and Tau felt the shifts in the familial bond they shared with Theta and knew something was happening. They knew it was bad when they felt faint residual pain. What they didn't know was if he'd been severely injured or regenerated. When the bond changed a bit more, Donna burst into tears, Tau almost did the same, and could barely tell Jack that indeed, Theta had regenerated.

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His regeneration caused the TARDIS to crash into the backyard of a young girl named Amelia Pond. The girl gave him food, and he fixed, or rather thought he fixed a crack in her wall. He thanked her for the fish fingers and custard, then left after promising to be back in five minutes.

Arriving on Tandoori Prime, the first thing he experienced was Donna's hand cracking on his cheek. Then she hugged him like she'd never let go. Tau just stared. Theta decided he should go look in a mirror. "At least people can tell us apart now," he tried to put a positive spin on it. Then wilted under Donna's glare and demand to know what happened.

They returned for Amelia, twelve years later than she had been expecting which annoyed her (four psychiatrists, she'd bitten them all), and they met Rory the Nurse. Once Prisoner Zero had been found, and the Atraxi sent away, Donna, Tau, Jack, Amy, and Rory watched as Theta found a new outfit. Complete with a bow-tie. "Bow-ties are cool," he said. Tau and Donna chose not to argue.

Jack left after a couple adventures, Amy joined the TARDIS crew, Rory joining later on, and the three Time Lords, Tau and Theta primarily, tried not to react strongly to again seeing River Song. They all, including Donna felt a shift in the timestream when they saw her. It felt as though something had been a little altered. Like the faint niggling that told them something had changed earlier before Theta's regeneration. Theta and Tau didn't know how River would fit into their lives. Donna knew now what River had whispered into Theta's ear at the Library. Or she thought she knew. She could have sworn it had been his true name. Theta and Tau knew it had been. But the word that echoed in their minds now was not Theta's true name, but instead, the name of his House on Gallifrey. It was strange, but none of the Time Lords could sense anything about this that would cause temporal damage so they tried to let it go.

From there on, the timestream continued as it would have had Theta not listened to River Song in the Library. The difference of three Time Lords instead of one, only made a small dent in the grand scheme of things. Which was fine, because sometimes, every once in a great while;

Time can be rewritten.


End file.
